Subject: Health technologies Publication date: All

Produced by project Optimize and the vaccine technologies team at PATH, this report: (1) summarizes the clinical evidence supporting the intradermal route for vaccine administration and the devices being developed for this purpose; (2) determines whether intradermal delivery broadly holds promise for vaccine applications for low- and middle-income countries in the future; and (3) begins to prioritize vaccine targets and device strategies that best fit the public health needs in these countries and likely merit further investigation. The document is available as one large file or as four smaller files for easier downloading.

Project Optimize, a collaboration between the World Health Organization and PATH, has been given a unique mandate to think far into the future: to put technological and scientific advances to work, helping define the ideal characteristics and specifications for health products; and to create a vaccine supply chain that is flexible and robust enough to handle an increasingly large and costly portfolio of vaccines. This brochure provides an overview of Optimize's areas of focus and activities.

This fact sheet describes how the START-UP project is working with private-sector partners to develop two new tests that detect infection with the types of human papillomavirus (HPV) that cause cervical cancer. Designed for use in low-resource settings, these screening tools are an innovative answer to the challenge of early detection of the precursors of cervical cancer.

Sure Start is an initiative intended to catalyze sustainable improvements in maternal and newborn health through effective community action in selected districts of Uttar Pradesh and urban sites of Maharashtra, India. The Sure Start project has been designed to complement and support the Government of India’s commitment to improving maternal and newborn health. This fact sheet gives an overall picture and progress of the project to date.

This document is part of a series of project briefs discussing the activities, research findings, and field experiences of PATH’s Safe Water Project.The project briefs are available in two formats: one for onscreen viewing and one for booklet-style printing.

This case study highlights PATH's work with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition and the Naandi Foundation to introduce rice fortified with iron-enriched grains into the government of India's Mid-day Meal Scheme in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The fortified rice was served daily for one school year to 60,000 children under the government-sponsored Mid-day Meal Scheme. A peer-reviewed study found that school children in India between the ages of 5 and 12 years who ate fortified rice had a significant increase in iron stores.

This table was developed under the Making Medical Injections Safer project, which PATH partners on in the areas of health care waste management (HCWM) and procurement technical assistance. The table provides brief summaries and contact information on many of the organizations that are actively engaged in HCWM throughout the developing world. It is intended to be a resource for country programs and governments seeking funding to support HCWM activities at the country level.

This document is intended to start discussions around quantifying the need for safe injection equipment and the amount of infectious sharps waste produced by testing and treatment programs for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. The analysis was developed to support advocacy efforts to integrate injection safety as an essential element of all health care programs.

Target specifications for an anemia diagnostic were determined by surveying personnel in nutritional programs, and methods and analytes were derived from a literature review. Presented at: Second International Micronutrient Forum, Bejing, China.

This special issue ofDirections in Global Healthhighlights PATH’s work to advance technologies to improve global health. Featured technologies include low-cost tests to screen for cervical cancer, a new vaccine to protect against meningitis in Africa, products to prevent diarrheal disease, and Ultra Rice food fortification technology. The issue also includes a summary of PATH’s approach to developing and introducing innovative health technologies.

This article, published in Expert Reviews (Expert Rev. Vaccines 8(5), 547-557; May 2009), reviews approaches being used to develop thermostable vaccine formulations that are resistant to damage caused by freezing or excessive heat and could reduce dependence on the cold chain. The article discusses the challenges associated with the implementation of these novel formulations as well as the potential benefits of protecting vaccines from damage caused by breaks in the cold chain.

This edition of PATH Today features our work in women's health and with the Entre Amigos project in Nicaragua and spotlights Margarita Quintanilla, PATH's Nicaragua country program leader. The issue also highlights PATH's breakthrough development of freeze-stable vaccines, an award for PATH vice president Dr. Michael Free, and the McKinstry Co. Charitable Foundation's commitment to health.

Demonstration of the feasibility of exothermic chemical heating as a component of a new, low-cost, disposable diagnostic platform that can be used for detection of a wide variety of infectious diseases. Presented at: 6th Annual World Health Care Congress, April 12, 2009; Washington, DC.

A demonstration of the feasibility of loop-mediated isothermal amplification, supported by exothermic chemical reactions as the basis of a new, low-cost, disposable diagnostic platform that can be used for detection of a wide variety of infectious diseases. Presented at: AACC 41st Annual Oak Ridge Conference, April 16, 2009; Baltimore, MD.

This is part of a series of working draft documents that discuss key questions and preliminary findings of PATH’s Safe Water Project. These reports will be used to inform follow-on research, identify potential partners, and contribute to the development of pilot activities. This particular document reports on “snapshot” research that PATH commissioned in 2007 on the safe water situation in Cambodia, Ghana, Tanzania, and Vietnam.

This document presents formative research results from PATH's HPV Vaccines: Evidence for Impact project in India. PATH is working with ministries of health and other country partners to develop strategies for introducing vaccines against human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer.